Susan Mathews

July 2017 report published by the Population Research Bureau provides both good and bad news about our aging society and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementias. It is undeniable that the absolute number of Americans with dementia is increasing,…

What makes me me? If I become severely demented, should my advance directive direct my care? What does my healthcare agent owe me when my life seems so diminished? This ethical dilemma is vividly demonstrated in a hypothetical case commonly…

The epidemic level of loneliness has warranted the emergence of the issue as a serious American public health hazard. Sixty million people currently suffer from loneliness that is both chronic and severe enough to be a major source of unhappiness,…

“Silence gives consent,” according to St. Thomas More. That deafening silence was evident on CBS Sunday Morning last month during an interview with Barbara Coombs Lee, a leading advocate for physician-assisted suicide and president of Compassion and Choices. When did she…

What has happened to our health care system? Physicians are now called “providers” and patients are “consumers.” Primary care doctors are buried with insurance paper work, checking the appropriate boxes, and using the right billing codes. Add to that, they…

Though every state in this nation struggles with escalating and unmanageable healthcare costs, only Oregon has established a rationing policy for the care needs of those on Medicaid. Oregon’s overt rationing plan has suffered the bumps and bruises of being…

As recently as the 1960s, physicians made almost every decision for patients, informing them of their choices and rationale. Now, the paternalistic era of “doctor knows best,” one aligning with the ethical principle of beneficence, has been largely replaced by…

Do you recall when Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the chief architect of the Affordable Care Act, made a chilling announcement that he does not wish to live beyond the age of 75 because his productive life will be over? As explicit…

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among North American women. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be 232,670 new cases of invasive breast cancer with 40,000 associated deaths in this year alone. Routine screening…